The Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office has announced the completion of the criminal investigation and submission to the court for examination of the criminal case accusing five people, including an evaluator of the Expertise and Consulting Agency, for money laundering in particularly large proportions, fraud in proportions large amounts, but also the acquisition of credit by deception, actions resulting in material damage estimated at 11 million lei, (art. 190 par.(5), art. 238 and art. 243 par.(3) letter b) of the Criminal Code ).

The criminal prosecution was dismissed in May 2023, from the criminal case started in March 2013, by the General Prosecutor's Office based on the self-referral. Later, other criminal cases initiated by the NAC were connected to this.

As a result of the criminal investigation, it was established that the evaluator of an Expertise and Consulting Agency (which is active to this day), being in complicity with the administrator and founder of a company, pursuing the purpose of acquiring credit by fraud from "Banca de Economii" (BEM, savings bank), drew up the Evaluation Report of an unfinished commercial building in the municipality of Chisinau in which he unjustifiably indicated the market value 4 times lower.

Further, the administrator and founder of the company in question, as well as six other persons against whom legal proceedings are currently being carried out, presenting the report indicated above, fraudulently acquired from "Banca de Economii", Branch no. 1 Chisinau, a loan in the amount of 42,500,000 lei, which was not returned, causing the financial institution a particularly large amount of damage.

Subsequently, the persons referred to above, acting in complicity and with the aim of stealing another person's property by misrepresentation, acquired during December 2011, from "Banca de Economii", funds in the amount of 4,400,000 lei, which, in order to conceal and disguise its illicit origin, they were transferred to the accounts of several companies.

The accused did not admit their guilt, and the criminal case was sent for substantive examination to the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters.

To be mentioned that, regarding two defendants who evaded the criminal investigation body, the procedural procedure was applied to complete the criminal investigation in their absence.

For the crime committed, the law provides for the punishment in the form of imprisonment of up to 12 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to exercise a certain activity for a period of up to 5 years (in the case of art. 190 paragraph (5) of the Criminal Code), a fine from 92,500 to 167,500 lei or imprisonment from 2 to 6 years (in the case of art. 238 of the Criminal Code) and imprisonment from 5 to 10 years, with a fine, applied to the legal entity, in size of 650,000 to 800,000 lei or with the liquidation of the legal entity (in the case of art. 243 paragraph (3) letter b) of the Criminal Code).

At the same time, a seizure was applied on the assets up to the amount of 300,000 lei, owned by one of the accused to guarantee the execution of the fine, the recovery of the damage and the possible special confiscation.

Note: A person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court decision.